Chapter BY Chapter

Revelation 20 - Thousand Year Reign of Christ

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Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, holding in his hand the key to the bottomless pit and a great chain.  And he seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years, and threw him into the pit, and shut it and sealed it over him, so that he might not deceive the nations any longer, until the thousand years were ended. After that he must be released for a little while.

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Then I saw thrones, and seated on them were those to whom the authority to judge was committed. Also I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for the testimony of Jesus and for the word of God, and those who had not worshiped the beast or its image and had not received its mark on their foreheads or their hands. They came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years.  The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended. This is the first resurrection.  Blessed and holy is the one who shares in the first resurrection! Over such the second death has no power, but they will be priests of God and of Christ, and they will reign with him for a thousand years.

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And when the thousand years are ended, Satan will be released from his prison and will come out to deceive the nations that are at the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them for battle; their number is like the sand of the sea.  And they marched up over the broad plain of the earth and surrounded the camp of the saints and the beloved city, but fire came down from heaven and consumed them, and the devil who had deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur where the beast and the false prophet were, and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.

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Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. From his presence earth and sky fled away, and no place was found for them.  And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Then another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged by what was written in the books, according to what they had done.  And the sea gave up the dead who were in it, Death and Hades gave up the dead who were in them, and they were judged, each one of them, according to what they had done.  Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire.  And if anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.”

 

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In chapter 18, we saw that Babylon fell, which is a label for what is actually described as Rome.  In chapter 19, there is much praise for the fall of Babylon.  Then the King of Kings arrives.  The kings of the earth and the beast gather to war against the King of kings.  The beast and the false prophet are captured and thrown into the lake of fire.  The rest of the armies are slain by the sword that comes out of the mouth of the King of kings.  The King of Kings wears a robe dipped in blood, which reminds us of the crucifixion of Jesus Christ.  This event is called “The Marriage Supper of the Lamb.”  Therefore the King of kings is equated with Jesus Christ and his sacrificial redemption.  It reminds us that only Jesus is worthy to take possession of the earth because of his sacrifice.  It reminds us that his inheritance is us. 

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Questions:

1. Will the earth be repopulated with only those that rise from the dead, or will there be survivors from the Great Tribulations also repopulate the earth?

   • Zech 14:16, “Then everyone who survives of all the nations that have come against Jerusalem shall go up year after year to worship the King, the Lord of hosts, and to keep the Feast of Booths.”

     • So, there seems to be some survivors of the Great Tribulation that will now worship Christ.

   • Rev 20:4, “Then I saw thrones, and seated on them were those to whom the authority to judge was committed. Also I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for the testimony of Jesus and for the word of God, and those who had not worshiped the beast or its image and had not received its mark on their foreheads or their hands. They came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years.”

     • Were there people beheaded for the testimony of Jesus before the Great Tribulation?

       1. Yes, so they are included in the thousand year reign too.

     • Were there believers that had not worshiped the beast before the Great Tribulation?

       1. Yes, so those believers are also included in the thousand year reign.

     • Rev 19:7-8, “for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and his Bride has made herself ready; it was granted her to clothe herself with fine linen, bright and pure”& Rev 19:14, “And the armies of heaven, arrayed in fine linen, white and pure, were following him on white horses.”

       1. So, the Bride of Christ, which includes Old Testament Saints and New Testament Saints, will take possession of the earth with Christ.

   • Rev 20:6, “Blessed and holy is the one who shares in the first resurrection! Over such the second death has no power, but they will be priests of God and of Christ, and they will reign with him for a thousand years.

     • So everyone that is included in the first resurrection will reign with Christ for a thousand years.

     • Rev 2:11, “The one who conquers will not be hurt by the second death.”

     • Rev 2:26-27, “The one who conquers and who keeps my works until the end, to him I will give authority over the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron, as when earthen pots are broken in pieces, even as I myself have received authority from my Father.”

     • Rev 3:21, “The one who conquers, I will grant him to sit with me on my throne, as I also conquered and sat down with my Father on his throne.”

     • Thus these promises to pre-tribulation Christians, show that they will rise on the first resurrection, the second death has no power over them, and they will reign with Christ.

   • Revelation 1:5-6, “To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood and made us a kingdom, priests to his God and Father, to him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.”

   • 2 Timothy 2:11-12, “If we have died with him, we will also live with him; if we endure, we will also reign with him;”

   • Daniel 7:18, “But the saints of the Most High shall receive the kingdom and possess the kingdom forever, forever and ever.”

     • So, this promise is to the Old Testament Saints & this passage is in a parallel passage for the end times.

     • The rule of the saints is a part of God’s plan and why dominion over the earth is established through the Messiah, Jesus Christ.Daniel 7:13-14, “13 “I saw in the night visions, and behold, with the clouds of heaven there came one like a son of man, and he came to the Ancient of Days and was presented before him.And to him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him; his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom one that shall not be destroyed.”

     • https://www.desiringgod.org/labs/we-will-reign-with-the-risen-christ

     • Hebrews 2 brings this out.

 

"Therefore we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, lest we drift away from it.  For since the message declared by angels proved to be reliable, and every transgression or disobedience received a just retribution, how shall we escape if we neglect such a great salvation? It was declared at first by the Lord, and it was attested to us by those who heard, while God also bore witness by signs and wonders and various miracles and by gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to his will.

For it was not to angels that God subjected the world to come, of which we are speaking.  It has been testified somewhere,

“What is man, that you are mindful of him,

    or the son of man, that you care for him?

You made him for a little while lower than the angels;

    you have crowned him with glory and honor,

putting everything in subjection under his feet.”

Now in putting everything in subjection to him, he left nothing outside his control. At present, we do not yet see everything in subjection to him.  But we see him who for a little while was made lower than the angels, namely Jesus, crowned with glory and honor because of the suffering of death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone.

For it was fitting that he, for whom and by whom all things exist, in bringing many sons to glory, should make the founder of their salvation perfect through suffering.  For he who sanctifies and those who are sanctified all have one source. That is why he is not ashamed to call them brothers, saying,

“I will tell of your name to my brothers;

    in the midst of the congregation I will sing your praise.”

And again,

“I will put my trust in him.”

And again,

“Behold, I and the children God has given me.”

Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, he himself likewise partook of the same things, that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, and deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery.  For surely it is not angels that he helps, but he helps the offspring of Abraham.  Therefore he had to be made like his brothers in every respect, so that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people.  For because he himself has suffered when tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.”

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• Revelation 20 is the complete fulfillment of Genesis 3:15.

“I will put enmity between you and the woman,

    and between your offspring and her offspring;

he shall bruise your head,

    and you shall bruise his heel.”

• With the fall of man, man’s dominion over the earth also fell.Only with the restoration that God provides through the blood of the Lamb & the restoration of the world to the inheritance of the Lamb can dominion of the earth return to man once again.

• By the way, (The New Jerusalem can hold 2.07x10 to the power of 19 people).More on that in the next chapter.

1. Will only Tribulation Saints reign with Christ for the thousand years?

   • From the previous verses, obviously all saints will reign with Christ for a thousand years.

   • This is also reinforced by 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18,

 

“But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope.  For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep.  For this we declare to you by a word from the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep.  For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first.  Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord.  Therefore encourage one another with these words.”

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1. What will happen to Satan?

   • The angel with the keys to the bottomless pit chains him up and locks him up in the bottomless pit for a thousand years.

   • After a thousand years are up, Satan is released again and deceives the nations to war against the saints and the beloved city.

   • The people that follow Satan are consumed by fire from heaven and Satan is thrown in the lake of fire to be tormented forever.

2. What will happen to planet earth?

   • Remember back in Rev 16:17-21, the earth gets flattened by a great earthquake.

     • “The seventh angel poured out his bowl into the air, and a loud voice came out of the temple, from the throne, saying, “It is done!”And there were flashes of lightning, rumblings, peals of thunder, and a great earthquake such as there had never been since man was on the earth, so great was that earthquake.The great city was split into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell, and God remembered Babylon the great, to make her drain the cup of the wine of the fury of his wrath.And every island fled away, and no mountains were to be found.And great hailstones, about one hundred pounds each, fell from heaven on people; and they cursed God for the plague of the hail, because the plague was so severe.”

   • This is confirmed in Revelation 20, verse 9.

     • “And they marched up over the broad plain of the earth and surrounded the camp of the saints and the beloved city…”

     • So apparently the whole earth becomes a broad plain that the entire world can walk across.

   • Restoring the nature of planet earth seems to be a big part of God’s plan and in his mind.First he will have to destroy the destroyers of the earth Rev 11:18.

   • Mathew 24:22 seems to indicate that without divine intervention, the planet would be destroyed. “And if those days had not been cut short, no human being would be saved. But for the sake of the elect those days will be cut short.”

   • Isaiah 11:6-9 indicates that there will be a cessation of destructive activities.

 

"The wolf shall dwell with the lamb,

    and the leopard shall lie down with the young goat,

and the calf and the lion and the fattened calf together;

    and a little child shall lead them.

The cow and the bear shall graze;

    their young shall lie down together;

    and the lion shall eat straw like the ox.

The nursing child shall play over the hole of the cobra,

    and the weaned child shall put his hand on the adder's den.

They shall not hurt or destroy

    in all my holy mountain;

for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord

    as the waters cover the sea."

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• Isaiah 35: 1-6,

 

"The wilderness and the dry land shall be glad;

    the desert shall rejoice and blossom like the crocus;

it shall blossom abundantly

    and rejoice with joy and singing.

The glory of Lebanon shall be given to it,

    the majesty of Carmel and Sharon.

They shall see the glory of the Lord,

    the majesty of our God.

Strengthen the weak hands,

    and make firm the feeble knees.

Say to those who have an anxious heart,

    “Be strong; fear not!

Behold, your God

    will come with vengeance,

with the recompense of God.

    He will come and save you.”

Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened,

    and the ears of the deaf unstopped;

then shall the lame man leap like a deer,

    and the tongue of the mute sing for joy.

For waters break forth in the wilderness,

    and streams in the desert;"

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• Hosea 2:18,

 

“And I will make for them a covenant on that day with the beasts of the field, the birds of the heavens, and the creeping things of the ground. And I will abolish the bow, the sword, and war from the land, and I will make you lie down in safety.”

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• Romans 8:19-22,

 

“For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God.  For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God.  For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now.”

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• Acts 3:19-21,

 

“Repent therefore, and turn back, that your sins may be blotted out, 20 that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, and that he may send the Christ appointed for you, Jesus, 21 whom heaven must receive until the time for restoring all the things about which God spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets long ago.”

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1. What will happen to the unsaved?

   • Verse 5, “The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended.”

   • Verses 11-15, “Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. From his presence earth and sky fled away, and no place was found for them.And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Then another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged by what was written in the books, according to what they had done.And the sea gave up the dead who were in it, Death and Hades gave up the dead who were in them, and they were judged, each one of them, according to what they had done.Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire.And if anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.”

   • So, if you leave it up to your works, and not the redemption of the blood of Christ, God finds what you did wrong and you are thrown into the lake of fire for it.

   • But, if you leave it up to the redemption of the blood of Christ, your name is written in the Book of Life.You miss the Great White Throne judgment because you are now already resurrected and ruling with Christ.

 

Song: Your Kingdom Come - Pete James